How to End an Email With a Professional Closing

The most important tip is to close an email with an actionable sentence. I mean crafting an ending that will encourage the reader to do something specific, be it answers a question, open your application, read an article, go to your offer, or whatever else you want to encourage them to do.

You already know how to create an efficient email structure and how to start an email. Let’s look at the best email sign-offs and find out how to end a business email to achieve your goal.

How to sign a business email

The ending is an integral part of any email communication. Due to the different aspects, you can touch on in the message body, the email closing can leave a positive impression. First, a proper ending makes it clear where your message ends. Without it, the user feels like something is missing.

Ending your email message motivates the recipient to take action, indicates your intentions, and provides information about how you perceive your relationship with the recipient. If you want to learn how to sign a business email properly, let’s stick to these five tips, and you’ll never have this dilemma again.

Get more loyal customers

A simple ticketing system for a team like yours. Manage all your customer messages in one place.

You'll be in good company

Discover HelpDesk

Free 14-day trial

1. Follow the formal or informal style

It really matters how you end your business email when you contact a customer, a company, or a friend. When it comes to formal communication style, don’t shorten the distance between you and the recipient if you’re unsure how they can perceive it. Choose a “safer” email closing that won’t put your reputation at risk.

However, in informal communication, you can let yourself go and be chatty and use colloquial phrases. Of course, keep in mind the type of relationship you have with your recipient. Don’t go too far with slang or other confusing words.

Jump to the list with the best email closings and match one of them to your style.

2. Remember about the call to action

Being actionable is necessary for any form of communication. Giving the recipient a clear indicator of what to do next is the best way to achieve the desired outcome.

Close your email with one specific question or action that the recipient should take. Posing too many questions or steps to complete is a recipe for overwhelming the reader. Decide what the most crucial action is. It’ll make your conversation more dynamic without any unnecessary information.

Not everyone will do what you want them to, but the goal here is not to achieve a perfect result. The goal is to maximize your chances using what you know about user behavior.

3. Set up clear deadlines

Many emails you receive are closed with a vague “what do you think?” or “when would be best for you to meet?”. Although the intentions here are clearly good and indicate a high level of writer’s empathy (“I value your time and opinion”), it’s not the best way to end an email.

Be specific and include a proposed time for the meeting. Suppose you’re establishing the project timeframe with a coworker, set up a deadline. Skip the ASAP part, and make sure that whatever you’re working on will be well taken care of. Don’t forget to make this deadline sound like a proposal, not an order.

4. Add email signature and track clicks

An email signature allows you to add links to social media or your website. To see if anyone clicks the link in your signature, add UTMs to these links. Additional data is always useful when it comes to analyzing traffic sources.

Fancy signatures with photos and brand logos are more appropriate for marketing emails. I’d stick to a simple text signature with a link or two to relevant pages for regular business correspondence. Signatures say more about who you’re and what you offer, so you should customize the signature to your situation and email campaign.

5. Use P.S.

Adding a P.S. (postscript), which comes from post scriptum (“written after”), is Latin for a way of adding “one more thing” before moving on to whatever you’re doing.

There’s no definite grammar rule to write PS versus P.S. The version with periods appears more in American English, but it’s not a definitive rule. Simple P.S. works anytime.

P.S. in formal email

Indeed, the P.S. lines have proved effective in marketing emails. Should you use P.S. in formal email as well? It depends on the goal of your message, and here are the examples:

1. If you’re writing a job application or contacting a potential business partner with whom you already have a relationship, I’d advise you to skip it. Try to include all the information in the main body of the email message, that way, you show that it was well-thought-out, and you didn’t forget anything that you would need to include in the P.S. as a result.

2. If you’re cold-emailing, pitching offers, or doing any activity with a lower response probability, then go ahead and use P.S, it’s acceptable here. The copy you include in P.S. can be conversational, interesting, and catchy. It can point to something the recipient should know about before leaving or be a “gentle reminder.” P.S. can make your formal email more engaging.

Also, remember that research shows readers tend to read the P.S. first. If you use this language device, use it with caution.

Go ahead and try a P.S. in your formal email communication. Let us know if it works for your prospects.

Email closing lines research

There are many common expressions that people use daily to end an email. Some of them are more effective, others less so. The good news is that this topic has recently been more deeply explored, and it’s eye-opening. The Perkbox Insights’s survey of nearly 2,000 people shows exactly what the five best and five worst business email endings are.

The results can come as a surprise to you. They definitely can create some confusion among communications, marketing, sales, and customer service professionals. Keep in mind that it’s a very individual thing, and some companies have a tone of voice that allows them to use “cheers” or “warmly” in their communication. You can see for yourself that this is risky if you don’t know exactly who you’re dealing with on the other end.

According to the survey mentioned earlier, 15% of people spend more than five hours checking and sending emails each day. That’s a lot! So, make sure that every interaction your recipient has with your email ends up as a positive experience.

List of the best email closings

If you’re wondering how to end an email, this list will be of help. Check these email closing phrases. Choose one of them, then copy & paste it to your email message.

How to end an email to a customer

Once you’ve written the entire body of the email that will be sent to the customer, the obvious next step is to end the email. Just before you send the email, you can use one sentence to gently refer to the email subject, such as expressing your expectation for further conversation or curiosity about how the customer perceives the proposed offer. The email ending is the place to be kind and clearly emphasize what you particularly care about. Here are the most polite ways to end an email to a customer.

How to end an email to a company

When you write an email to a company, always think about the impression you want to make. Do you want to be seen as confident and strong-willed? Or maybe you want to show distance and a cool-headed approach? Writing clear business emails can help you position yourself positively in your career, professional network, or relationship with a potential employer. The same goes for the ending of your email to the company. Choose the right email sign-off from the list to show your attitude.

How to end an email to a recruiter

Current best practices related to the recruitment process dictate that you should thank them for their time after a fruitful conversation with a recruiter. By doing so, you’ll make the recruiter remember you, which will bring you closer to employment opportunity. Choose one of the following endings for an email to the recruiter to get your dream job.

How to end an email to a friend

Messages to friends are always full of exciting stories, confessions, friendly questions, or memories. It’s an excellent idea to end such an interaction with an appropriate email ending. Find the right tone to close your email to the friend. Here’s the list with the best sign-offs that you can use to end an email to a friend.

How to end an email to a stranger

Contact with a person who’s a stranger to you always brings up a range of emotions. However, remember that everyone deserves respect. When writing a message to a person you don’t really know well, use the universal phrases to not fall into the communication trap. The same goes for ending your email, so try one of the suggestions below to come out on top and end an email to a stranger the right way.